Rating the Candidates from the Reagan Library GOP Presidential Debate – 9/7/11

Tonight’s GOP Presidential Debate at the Reagan Presidential Library was clearly focused on new front-runner Rick Perry. Many of the questions by the Leftist moderators were based on what Rick Perry did or did not do in Texas, or on what he has written in his book, “Fed Up!”

It’s always hard to rate how candidates did in a forum like this but here goes:

Newt Gingrich was tops, with his strong calling out of the moderators for their constant attempts to get Republicans to attack each other, instead of asking them how they would govern differently from Barack Obama. He even pointed out that the media is trying to protect Obama – which is absolutely true.

Next would be both Mitt Romney and Rick Perry. Both did well, with neither making big mistakes. Perry was combative, but not nasty, and the two even went back and forth with each other. Some will call Perry standing by his statement that Social Security is a “Ponzi Scheme” for younger workers, who are paying in with little hope of ever getting their investment back, a mistake. I really don’t think it is. The media will howl and Romney will try and use it against Perry, but Perry showed strength in standing by what he wrote in his book, and he launched a real appeal to younger workers who instinctively don’t believe Social Security will be there for them. Perry believes the system must be reformed, while he guarantees those already on Social Security or about to be so, that their benefits will not be affected.

Rick Santorum and Herman Cain did well in their answers, but they did not really manage to break through in the crowded field. Ron Paul was his usual self, and walked right into Rick Perry bringing up his 1987 letter bashing Ronald Reagan and resigning from the Republican Party.

To me, the two candidates who did not do well were Michele Bachmann and Jon Huntsman. Bachmann was thought of as a top-tier candidate just a month ago, and now she has really dropped in the polls. This debate performance did nothing to put her in the top-tier with Romney and Perry. i would look for her numbers to drop further in the weeks ahead. Jon Huntsman just did not come across well at all, acting like he is the guy who is more cool and smarter than everyone else on the stage. It didn’t work.

In summary, Perry came in the front-runner, and I think he goes out the leader. But Mitt Romney came across as strong and capable, and is still very much in the race. The media will focus on Perry’s Social Security remarks, but it won’t hurt Perry with the GOP base.